


June 22nd, Nevada

by Julesin



Series: Runaways, or That Feel When Multiverse Theory is Confirmed Canon [7]
Category: Everyman HYBRID, MLAndersen0, Marble Hornets, Tribe Twelve
Genre: Alex Kralie: the King of Tact, But we don't have canon last names for any emh characters sooo, First Kiss, Kissing, M/M, Makeouts, New Relationship, Next week back to your previously scheduled Vinvan, Patrick is surprisingly awkward when it comes to relationships, Thank you for indulging me in my crack ship, Yes I know the actors last name is Jennings, dont do it, evan dont call Michael Mike, whatev
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-28
Updated: 2017-10-28
Packaged: 2019-01-25 10:57:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12529772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Julesin/pseuds/Julesin
Summary: "Hey," Patrick Andersen murmured, his voice the same level and sound as his host's but with a different inflection, a lower tone. More strength. "Can we talk?"





	June 22nd, Nevada

A hand on his arm broke Evan from his thoughts. He turned his head to match unnervingly bright hazel ones, a slightly more saturated shade than he was used to, and he swallowed nervously when he realized how close the other man was. 

"Hey," Patrick Andersen murmured, his voice the same level and sound as his host's but with a different inflection, a lower tone. More strength. "Can we talk?" He gestured to the door between the hotel rooms. 

Evan glanced at the rest of their group, gauging where everyone was mentally and physically. Brian and Alex lounged on one of the beds in the room, Brian's arm draped over the thinner man's shoulders calmly. Alex was engaged with Noah, who sat in the arm chair provided by the hotel with his feet up on the mattress by Alex's. Vincent was laying back on the other bed, looking at the ceiling while Jessica lounged perpendicular to him at the foot. They all seemed genuinely preoccupied with whatever was in each of their heads, and Evan figured it couldn't hurt to be away for a little bit, as long as they were back before Tim and Jay returned with dinner. 

He turned back to Patrick, who's eyes were also scanning the room but soon returned to him. At the singular eyebrow raise that looked so foreign on a face that was usually worn so differently, Evan nodded, gesturing towards the door as if to say Lead the way. Patrick did, and at Vincent's questioning look, Evan waved a hand vaguely towards the man he was following. Vince seemed to understand, a knowing smile creeping on his face, and his head fell back against the headboard. 

Evan closed both doors between the rooms quietly behind him, watching Patrick saunter over to one of the beds with such a confident stride that Evan had to rub his eyes. This was so not something he was used to. 

Patrick sat heavily on the mattress. "So."

Evan nodded, unsure as to where this was going. 

"Look," he started again. "Michael hasn't noticed, because he's one of the most oblivious human beings on Earth--like, literally, he wouldn't know a snake 'til it bit him in the ass--but I definitely have."

Evan waited for him to continue, but when Patrick stayed quiet, Evan asked the question he was probably waiting for. "Noticed what?"

The small smile on Patrick's lips told Evan he was right. "Well, primarily? Your exceedingly heavy flirting and the obviousness of your want to smooch our dear little Michael. And I never wanted to use the word 'smooch' ever, but here we are. See what you've done to me, Evan Jennings?"

Evan closed his eyes briefly, letting the barrage of embarrassment pass quietly. When he opened his mouth, he only replied, "And?"

Patrick seemed a little taken aback. "Well, um, we should talk about that. Like, what we're gonna do about it." He recovered his composure quickly, his voice returning to its self-assured tone. "Look, Michael is also really awkward, just generally, as a human being, so I'm acting as middle man for this. And trying not to make an ass of myself, since he can hear this."

Right. Patrick did say that. Which means Michael was most likely hiding his face in embarrassment from how uncomfortable this whole exchange had been so far. Evan decided to take pity on Michael (not Patrick, though) and relaxed as much as he could. "Alright. So what exactly is the point of this conversation? Other than to make it plainly obvious what my feelings are towards Mike."

Patrick's face changed, his expression more serious than before. "Yesterday, when Michael showed you his scars, it was a trust exercise. You passed with flying colors of course, because you're amazing, but... There at the end. _I_ felt how strongly he wanted to kiss you, and I was in his head. He cares about you probably as much as you care about him, if not more. If you didn't already know, Michael has some serious trust issues, but also gets attached to people really easily. It's a mix of some childhood issues and his mental illnesses, but the point is: he really likes you. But he...doesn't really know how to deal with it. That's where I come in. Like I said," he gestured to himself, "Middle man. Though, to be honest, I'm not the best middle man since this, you know, kinda includes me too, given that I also live here. Which is also something we should talk about, but it can probably wait. I mean, I think I know what your position is going to be, given how different Michael and I are, but it can't hurt."

Evan considered everything he'd just been told. He had a very important decision to make now, and he didn't want to ruin everything by making the wrong choice. If they were going to do this, though...

"I don't think," he started carefully. "You and Michael aren't that dissimilar. Yes, you're much better at talking to people, and Michael has...tact, but-" He stopped, smiling slightly at Patrick's offended look. "But if Michael and I are going to go any further, I..." Evan broke off again, but for a different reason. He shuffled over to the bed and sat down next to Patrick, fully in his personal space. "I need to accept all of him."

Patrick seemed, for once, at a loss for words. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out, and after a moment he closed it again in favor of swallowing audibly. A croaked out, "Okay," was all Evan got, but it was enough. He smiled. 

Patrick stared at the floor, looking uncharacteristically Michael-ish. After a moment Evan tapped his hand lightly with a finger, and he jumped. "Don't go inside." He nodded, but didn't respond for a bit. Evan was starting to think that he'd have to start things when the silence was finally broken. 

Patrick sat up with a deep breath, then looked Evan in the eyes. "Can I kiss you?" His voice was so soft, so timid, so abnormal to the more forward personality that Evan had to check his eyes to make sure Michael hadn't come back in the silence. When he was sure, he smiled a little more, then nodded. 

The taller of the two leaned in slightly, close enough that Evan could feel his breath ghosting across his own lips. If he opened his eyes, he could see every minute detail to Patrick's face, the deep bruises under his eyes, the slight quiver to his lips, the unsureness in his features. He pressed his lips together briefly, then closed the distance between them in one movement. 

It wasn't awe-inspiring. Fireworks didn't explode overhead. Patrick was pretty obviously inexperienced, at least in Michael's body, his mouth not moving much as Evan kissed him, but none of that really seemed to matter. It wasn't a long kiss, but there were stars in Patrick's eyes when they parted, and Evan had to stifle a laugh at just how amazed he looked. 

After a long moment of silence, Patrick murmured, "Is that what kissing is supposed to be like?" and Evan couldn't keep in his giggles. He tried to keep them quiet, but Patrick turned red as he failed, and glared at the wall with a grumpy look. "Well, if you're gonna be like that," he grumbled. 

Evan did his best to stop laughing and met Patrick's eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I just...your face was really amusing."

"I'm glad I'm good entertainment," Patrick retorted, and Evan tried to control himself. 

"I really am sorry. That was mean." He looked up through his eyelashes. "How was it?"

Patrick swallowed again, his eyes darting away. "Um, good. It was really good. I'm, uh, if you want, I can hand control back to, uh..."

"If you want to give the body back to Michael, you can."

He nodded and closed his eyes, holding up a finger. Evan waited for about a minute, watching every minute twitch of the body that would soon primarily be Michael's. Eventually, the eyes opened again, and Michael's light brown orbs peered back at him, worried and flustered. "Um, hey."

Evan smiled warmly. "Hey. I hear you wanted to kiss me yesterday."

A minute nod. 

"Why didn't you?"

Michael scrambled for words. "I, well, it just, didn't seem like, I mean, we were interrupted, and it was early, and it wasn't, it just didn't-" He stopped himself, taking a moment to breath. "It wasn't the right time."

Evan nodded slightly. "That's perfectly valid. Well..." He shifted slightly closer, adopting what he hoped was a more seductive pose. "Is now the right time?"

Michael's eyes darted down his torso, then back up to his face, and Evan could see his hands shaking out of the corner of his eye. He nodded ever so slightly, a hand coming up to lightly brush a lock of hair behind Evan's ear, and Evan closed his eyes to enjoy the brief physical contact. When he opened them again, Michael's pupils were noticeably dilated, something Evan took a moment to appreciate before he was startled back into reality by Michael's mouth pressing to his. 

Michael was definitely better than Patrick. He immediately took direct control of the kiss, his lips crashing into Evan's like a wave of sea water, and his tongue flicked out at Evan's bottom lip, making him gasp slightly. Evan felt like he was drowning in the other man, flailing for a grip just like his fingers grasped at Michael's shoulders. When Michael's teeth teased at his lip, promising a bite in the near future, Evan pressed against his shoulders, pulling away to gasp for air. 

Michael blinked in concern as Evan steadied his breathing. When it was clear he was okay, Michael started blustering. "I'm sorry, was it too much? Was I supposed to ask? I'm not used to this, I'm sor-"

Evan cut him off by kissing him again, just a quick one meant to shut him up. When they parted again, he smiled ruefully. "Calm down. You're fine. I just...wasn't prepared for it."

"Should I have asked first?"

Evan rolled his eyes. "No, no that's not necessary. The kiss itself was anticipated, it just... How many people have you kissed?"

Michael's eyebrows drew together in confusion. "Um, well, one. Other than you. Is...is that a problem?"

Evan lightly massaged Michael's shoulders to calm him. "No, it's fine. I just wasn't expecting you to be so...good."

Michael stared at him blankly. 

"You're a good kisser, Michael. Better than Patrick, which says a lot given that you're in the same body."

A flush lighted across Michael's cheeks, despite a bit of confusion in his eyes, and he ducked his head slightly. 

"Who did you kiss before this?"

"Another inmate at the hospital. Stormy..." He choked momentarily, but continued on. "She wasn't the only person I came to know. There were a lot of other patients I saw regularly. There was this one girl who was really nice to me, and when she kissed me I just kind of let it happen because it was fun. Of course, when I got really violent she stopped coming to see me..." 

His expression darkened with sadness, and Evan pressed a small kiss to his lips to try to abate it. "Well, wherever she is, I'm grateful to her for teaching you well." Evan traced a finger over Michael's collarbone, where he knew a terrible word was etched into the skin. He ignored the feelings that came with that thought and hooked his hands behind Michael's neck instead. "Why don't you let me lead this time?"

Michael nodded, allowing Evan to pull him closer and start with a chaste first kiss. The second one was longer, and Evan allowed one of his hands to twist into the brunette's hair, which pulled a small noise from deep in Michael's throat. That sound pushed Evan to go further, tilting his head to deepen the kiss, and after a moment Michael leaned back, pulling Evan with him down to the bed. 

Their lips parted then, and Evan gazed down at the beautiful human under him, brushing Michael's reddened lower lip softly with a thumb while his other hand brushed hair out of his eyes.

The words Michael spoke were soft, but they were powerful. "More? Please?"

Evan felt something tighten in his gut at the second word. He swallowed, his throat suddenly dry, and croaked out, "Can you say that again?"

Michael's face turned confused, trying to parse out what Evan meant, before realization filled his eyes, and a small smile played at the corners of his mouth as his eyes lidded. His voice was deeper, more saturated with feeling, when he spoke again, and Evan was certain that it purposefully sounded like a moan when Michael responded, "Please, Evan?"

That was too much, and Evan suddenly felt like he couldn't breath and Michael was exhaling the oxygen he needed. Their mouths connected again, looser and sloppier, and this time Michael matched him in intensity, one hand copying Evan's from earlier and crawling into the other's hair. One tug was all it took for Evan to let out an extraordinarily embarrassing noise, one that was quickly swallowed by the kiss. Michael's teeth nipped at his lip again, and this time he allowed it, bracing for the small bite and loving the way Michael pulled at his lower lip. The other man pulled at his hair again, and in response he slipped a hand under his sweater, brushing light fingertips over sensitive skin and eliciting a choked squeak from the man. How he wanted to explore the entirety of this body. Every crevice, every plane, every scar. He wanted to make Michael feel loved, feel more important than anyone in the world just for a little bit, he wanted to be someone who could make Michael feel like nothing else mattered. 

They parted, both gasping for air, and remained not two inches from each other as they regained their breath. Michael's face was flushed, his eyes dark and his hair messy, and Evan felt immense pride that he'd been the one to do that. More than that, though, he felt the heat curling in his abdomen that had distracted him and made him break the kiss. 

"Can't..." he mumbled out after a moment. "If we continue like this, I won't want to stop. Which, I would love nothing more than to be that...intimate, but I think we should wait." Michael nodded, seeming a little hazy. "You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," he mumbled back, sounding just as out of it as Evan felt. "Just... I think Patrick fell asleep."

"What?"

Michael smiled a little. "I think the endorphins from all that kissing knocked him out. There's just this section of my brain that feels dark all of a sudden. It's fine, this has happened before. It's just kinda weird when it does happen." His eyes flitted away for a moment, then met Evan's again. "Did you mean what you said? About being...intimate?"

Evan nodded immediately, not embarrassed by it at all. "I want to make you feel loved, if you'll let me. You deserve to know that you're cared about and important. I know that's kind of cheesy, but..."

Michael chuckled nervously. "What, you wanna like...make love to me?"

"Yes."

Michael swallowed heavily, his eyes clouding. He tried to say something, but there seemed to be something blocking his throat, and all he could get out was a small strangled breath. Panic shot through Evan's chest when a tear rolled down the side of Michael's face. 

"Hey, hey, what's wrong? What did I say?" Michael shook his head, one of his hands coming up to wipe at his eyes, but Evan's panic didn't fade. He was going to roll off of Michael, maybe allow them to talk about whatever just happened without him hovering over the other, but Michael's hands gripped his arms, keeping him in place. 

"No, I-" Michael took a shaky breath. "I'm okay. I don't know why that hit me so hard. It was...it was good. Don't leave." The last statement was almost a whisper, so vulnerable that Evan couldn't defy it, and he tried to relax. A thin layer of tears swam in Michael's eyes, and Evan was tempted to kiss them away, so he did. He pressed his lips, light as a feather, to the corners of Michael's eyes, tasting salt from the unshed sorrow. Michael let out a weak giggle at Evan's ministrations, and eventually pushed him away, a small smile on his lips. "Stop, that tickles."

Evan grinned in response, placing his lips back on Michael's instead for a slower and calmer kiss. 

"I really hope this is real," Michael murmured into his mouth. 

Evan pulled back, hesitating a moment before smiling and kissing him again. "I think it is. I'm not the leading expert on existence, but this seems pretty real to me."

Michael smiled again after a moment. "Yeah...me too."

Evan kissed him again, and they stayed like that, Evan above with elbows on either side of Michael's head, and Michael with his hands just under the edge of Evan's shirt, brushing softly against light skin. Several minutes passed, or maybe several days, they didn't particularly care at that point. They could only feel each other. 

Evan snapped back to reality when he felt his arms about to give out, and he had to break the kiss and roll off of Michael before he crushed the other man and made things awkward.

"Sorry, arms were tired," he murmured into the quiet room, and Michael chuckled quietly before turning over and laying an arm across Evan's chest. 

"'S fine," he mumbled back, lips close to Evan's ear, and Evan felt a peace that he hadn't felt since...since Stephanie. 

His throat constricted. He knew he'd have to think about it eventually, but the pain felt just as fresh as it had before. It felt like the morning after Habit's massacre all over again every time he remembered her smile, Jeff's laugh. 

How could he face this?

"You're thinking too much," Michael murmured into his ear. "It's pretty loud."

And the pain lessened. It was almost like that calm voice sapped all the strength from his panic in one fell swoop. The idea of Michael having such a power over his emotions scared him, made him feel more vulnerable than he had in a long time, but it somehow also elated him. The idea of not having to think for a while when in his company made Evan believe for the first time in years that everything... might be okay. 

His mind wandered to Vinnie. He expected some kind of negative emotion to be present, whether it was worrying that Vincent would be jealous, or comparing him to Michael, but there was nothing. Just contentment, comfort, wonder, and a brief passing thought about food. 

That was what snapped Evan out of the daze he'd been in. How long had they been in here? There was no doubt that Tim and Jay would be back by now. Had someone tried to come get them and they'd been so focused on each other that they hadn't even noticed? That brought embarrassment, and anxiety, and- Michael lifted his head from Evan's shoulder. 

"What are you thinking about?"

Evan sighed. "We should go back over. Food's probably here by now."

He expected some kind of sarcastic retort condemning thinking about food while they were together like this, but Michael only smiled. "Yeah, probably." They remained there for several moments more, however, enjoying the comfort and warmth they shared, before Michael sat up slowly. 

Evan allowed himself to be pulled up as well, though he let out a big yawn, and Michael giggled at it. They slowly crawled their way off the bed, and Evan fussed with Michael's hair, which was a mess. Michael batted him away, but returned the favor by going for Evan's hair, which he was sure looked just as bad. Before they returned to the other room, though, Evan stopped. 

"Do we...do you want them to know?"

Michael looked to the floor, then met his eyes again. "I'm...I think so. I don't want to keep any more secrets. Are you okay with that?"

Evan thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah. It's not like it's actually that big of a deal, at least compared to everything else we've been through. I think they deserve to know."

Michael nodded, understanding. They collectively took a deep breath, then opened the first of the doors between the rooms. 

Upon opening the second, they were immediately greeted by seven pairs of eyes darting to them, then darting away, guilt in each one as everyone in the room looked at the floor, the wall, anywhere but the two of them. Evan got the feeling he'd missed something. 

"Um," he started, feeling furtive looks from all angles, and swallowed. "We're back."

"Patrick's gone," Michael added quietly. "He's not here anymore, I'm Michael again." 

A couple people nodded, but the silence was more uncomfortable than the worst of thanksgiving dinners. Evan figured that was mostly him though, so it was best to just get things out in the open immediately. He slid his hand into Michael's, squeezing once. "So, Michael and I... we wanted to just let you all know- um, we don't want to keep secrets. We weren't just like, talking in there. We did a lot of kissing, too." Embarrassment set in, making him mumble the last bit. 

The silence weighed heavy on the room for several moments as people seemed to be figuring out what to say, when Alex broke it wide open with a chainsaw, all without looking up from his phone. 

"Yeah, we know."

Everyone but Evan and Michael groaned, and Brian whacked Alex on the head harshly, earning an, "Ow! What was that for?" from the tactless brunette. Brian just shook his head. 

"What? If they're not gonna lie to us, I'm not gonna lie to them!"

Evan and Michael shared a look.

"I came in to get you two a few minutes ago," Vincent explained ruefully. "But you were a little, um, busy. So I left you to it. I'm sorry, I couldn't keep from telling everyone, I thought it wouldn't hurt but now I realize that was probably kind of awful of me."

Evan and Michael were both quiet, then the latter let out a small huff of a laugh, then another, then he was full on laughing, head down towards the floor and a hand over his mouth. Evan watched him laugh, a bit perplexed, but mostly relieved that he wasn't freaking out. Michael slowly calmed down, wiping tears from his eyes, and cleared his throat several times. "Sorry about that." The grin present on his face didn't go away, but at least he wasn't dying of laughter anymore. 

Vincent narrowed his eyes at the man, suspicion filling them. "Are you sure you're not Patrick?"

Michael's eyes widened, then he waved his hands animatedly. "No, no! I promise, I'm Michael. It's just," he coughed, trying not to laugh again. "I've never been in a situation like this."

"You're taking it rather well," Noah remarked, leaning back in his chair. 

"Yeah, well," Michael replied with a glance at Evan. "I'm feeling kinda good today."

"Gross."

"Alex!"

**Author's Note:**

> Like I said in the tag, thank you for indulging my crack ship <3  
> If someone told me they shipped this too, outside of any influence of mine, I'd probably die tbh  
> I love Michvan so much...  
> And Patvan...  
> Just  
> Let them be happy  
> Anyway  
> See you next week for some much-needed angst


End file.
